It’s just a matter of time before the brisk sales of Bobby and the A-Bomb Factory, my childhood memoir, force it into a second print run. So I’m collecting new bits of information for the second edition.

One factoid I definitely want to add is the name of the Richland High School sports teams. That’s right: they’re the Bombers, a name adopted just weeks after the proud little atomic city’s plutonium devastated Nagasaki. And the school logo (see above) is a cute mushroom cloud, imposed on the “R” for Richland. One thing is sure: this is a town confident in its identity. RHS alumni congregate at RichlandBombers.com (where you can get your memorabilia emblazoned with the “Proud of the Cloud” motto—mugs or mousepads anyone?), and then there’s BomberBoosters.com. The school mascot is a green and gold bomb, an airplane affixed to its top, carted onto the field by cheerleaders bearing the cloud image on their bosoms.

Various attempts have been made to change the name, but all were voted down. A Japanese delegation visited the school to request a change, but the principal dismissed them, saying “We didn’t start that war.” But in case Richland High ever gives in to the political correctness wave and needs a new name for its teams, could I suggest “Homeless Indians”? How about “Crispy Japs”? Or “Thyroid Cancers”?

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